Hurricane
by Keri-wordsofwisdom
Summary: "It's okay to be sad, you know," Zuko finally said squeezing my hands. I shivered again. "It's okay to cry every once and a while." With that, I let the tears fall faster and swifter. We wrap our arms around each other, as I mindlessly cry into his shirt for the first time. His warmth took over my body, ridding me of any trace of ever being cold. Zutara fic. :D
1. Hurricane

**I have had alot of people who wanted a Zutara fic, and to be honest, I think they're sort of cute. Katara and Zuko.. Even though I full-out ship Kataang, I think it would be quite fun to try :3**** Based off of the song "Hurricane" by 20 Seconds to Mars. Wooot.**

**This will likely have a few chapters, but it won't be full-fledged (:**

**Reviews can make my day, by the way (:**

* * *

_"She isn't gone!" I yelled, only an echo of my younger self yelling and sobbing. I wouldn't ever come to terms with the fact that my mother had been murdered by the Fire Nation. I'd known about this whole war thing, but had I known much about it? No, I didn't think this would ever happen. At least, not to me. _

_Her eyes looked fake; glued open. Sickening. Fear was still painted in them as I sobbed over her still body. Not her. Not my mother. Not my best friend. _

_"Katara, you have to compose yourself."_

_"Kya loved you." _

_"She was a brave woman."_

_"We have to protect..."_

_Everything in my mind didn't matter. It didn't matter that she was brave, that she used to love me, that this meant more war. The only thing that mattered was that she was gone. Gone forever because of one person. One monster. If only I'd stayed with her.. If only I'd stood my ground to that man, maybe she'd still be here._

* * *

I sat straight up in my tent, gasping wildly for air. Beads of sweat were formed at my hairline, and tears were already streaming down my cheeks. I took in one huge breath before letting it all out in short, shallow sobs. Thunder boomed outside, hiding my intakes of oxygen.

My mind swam in slow motion; as I remembered what _day _in specific that today was. Today was May thirteenth. One date that would always linger in my head; the day she was taken from my life. That explained the nightmares, but why? I hadn't had nightmares in over two years about the whole thing. Especially not seeing her cold and blue. That thought only made me choke back more sobs.

I stretched my joints, toes and back cracking as I did so. I pulled on some shoes, not bothering with a coat. It wasn't all that cold, and I'd survive without one.

I didn't know where I was going, but away from everyone's public eye would be better than staying. I made my way to the trees, where the rain wouldn't be like small piercing bullets, but more like a mist. I kept walking, listening to the constant _crunch _of the dead grass under my feet. No, it was barely wet under here. The sound of the rain pelting the trees above was something you never heard in the south pole. Strangely, it made me want to sleep more. To sleep for a nice, long time.

The men of our tribe used to say that crying in front of allies showed weakness. Even if you're about to perish, no crying. Stay strong, and you'll be remembered as strong. Just like _her._

Once I'd made it deep enough into the forest, I stopped and sat, leaning against an oak. I sat there for the longest time with nothing running through my mind, just letting myself relax. I might have sat there hours before I heard the crunch of footsteps. Alert, I tensed up again, so much for that.

"I heard you leave," Zuko's voice came from the darkness.

"Oh," I whispered back, feeling his heat next to me. Firebenders always did have such a higher body temperature than other benders. "I guess I'm not sneaky."

"I could also hear you thrashing in your sleep," He said, sitting down completely, our sides touching. "What was on your mind?"

"Everything."

"I've got time."

I sighed. Of course he did, it was the middle of the night! "Can I ask you something personal?" I asked, sitting with my knees curled to my chest. I knew there was no going back. Zuko would pry me until I told him if I backed out.

Zuko took a moment to think about my question. "Sure," he replied quietly, leaning his head back against the trunk of the tree, opening his palm into a small flame, which lit up the land around.

"How did you cope with your mother's disappearance?"

"Not very well," He admitted, glancing at me. "I went into a dark place."

I shivered, feeling the impulse to lean into his shoulder, to comfort him in some way.

"Why?" Zuko asked, wondering why I took an interest in the subject.

"Because I didn't. Everyone else did, and I was the one who just _didn't,_ Sokka and my dad.. My _whole village._ I was the emotionless monster." I muttered, blinking rapidly to dry the incoming tears.

The light in our eyes was gone as he closed his hand, shrinking the once-large flame. I felt his warm hands on my ice-cold ones. He covered them, almost as if he were protecting them. It felt nice, the warmth, though it gave me chills that seemed oblivious at the time. They made me feel secure for the first time in a very long time.

One small tear escaped. I prayed to Yue he didn't see it fall down my neck. "She's been gone for eight years now."

Silence.

"It's okay to be sad, you know," Zuko finally said, squeezing my hands. I shivered again. "It's okay to cry every once and a while."

With that, I let the tears fall waster and swifter than what seemed like possible, at least for _me. _I let myself fall into his arms, mindlessly crying into his shirt. Warmth took over my body, ridding me of any trace of ever being cold. He whispered comforting words into my hair, not used to this at all.

"Sh, it's alright.."

Eventually, I'd managed to cry myself out. I hadn't cried like _this _at all since she was ripped from me. Zuko let me curl into his chest, his arms wrapped around me. He let me get it all out of my system, the hiccups and all before settling us into a laying position. My heart thudded, _this was Zuko. _Not Aang, but _Zuko._ The man who chased me and everyone around, tried to kill us on occasions, not some guy I should be falling for!

But, when he got rid of the top-knot, he _did _get alot more...

What am I _thinking?_

"Thank you, Zuko. I haven't done this in eight years."

He raised an eyebrow underneath his shaggy black hair, golden eyes bore into my blue ones. "You haven't cuddled with a fire prince in eight years? Hm.."

I let out a small laugh. "I haven't _cried _like this in eight years," I replied, letting one of my hands rest next to my head on his chest. It didn't occur to me that I was curled up next to the prince of the Fire Nation—but that I was curled up next to just Zuko. He didn't seem so dangerous anymore, like Azula or Ozai. He seemed as if he'd never had all that hatred inside him.

At least _right now, _he doesn't. I felt one of his hands stroking my hair, which was still down. I'd never felt like putting it in the braid anymore, it almost felt nice when it was down, for this reason.

We were both relaxed into one another, Zuko pressed blind kisses into my forehead every once and a while, making me blush, my face heating up all around. I wasn't sure if he could feel it since he was already so warm. "You know," Zuko began, breaking the silence. "We're going to need a cover story so we can go back together. If someone sees us, we're going to need to be on the same page."

Another kiss above my eyebrow, his warm lips lingering. More blush.

"The rain had us both up," I mumbled into his chest, inhaling his scent. "And I went on a walk. You stayed behind. I didn't come back, so you came looking for me," I said simply, proud of how smooth the words came out, despite the fact he'd distracted me with his fingers making small circles on my waist.

"Mmm," Zuko murmured in agreement. "Good plan." We laid there in silence for a little bit, just enjoying the company. I'd taken a liking to nuzzling into his neck, stretching one arm across his stomach. "You should get some rest, Katara."

"And you shouldn't?" I retorted, "It looks like you haven't slept in days."

Zuko smiled, "I'm an early riser, we'll both sleep a few hours then get up, okay?" Yes, he _smiled. _It seemed weird, seeing Zuko smile. It made me feel more comfortable for some reason, one that I couldn't quite put my finger on. What was it?

When I closed my eyes, I was washed over with his warmth. His bare chest didn't even feel cold or even cool. When I closed my eyes, I fell asleep faster than I had in a long, long time. Right there, cuddled up to Prince Zuko.

* * *

_Zuko_

The sun rose over the trees, all traces of clouds gone. Katara laid next to me, facing away from me, but her back pressed into my chest, her head tucked next to mine. I had one arm still around her waist, or resting on her waist, almost as if I'd tried to pull her closer to me in the night.

I sat up, watching her breathe. In the fetal position, she looked so much less stressed in her sleep. Almost as if all the stress of the comet had melted away and didn't matter anymore. I almost could see a small tug at her lips, a smile? I slowly slid my arms around her, hoisting her up into my arms. She groaned a little bit, but then drifted back off.

I guessed that Katara was used to always taking care of other people. I knew that if she was coherent, she wouldn't have let me carry her back to camp, to our awaiting friends who were probably worried sick about her. Katara's head slumped against my chest, a feeling I wouldn't ever forget.

I don't know what's happening with me, I've never felt like this with anyone, not even Mai. With Mai, it was all serious. With Katara, I felt she could joke around, even when unnecessary.

As we came into eye-shot of the site, I could already see Sokka pacing, and Aang meditating close by on the ground. Sokka's lips were moving quickly, throwing his hands up in the air and making over-dramatic faces. His face went from worry, to relief, but then straight to anger as he spotted Katara in my arms.

He crossed his arms, raising one eyebrow. "And where were you two?"

"The rain last night had us both up, Katara wanted to go for a walk. I waited for her to come back, but she didn't. I fell asleep, and woke early this morning, she still wasn't back, I went looking."

Aang and Sokka glanced at each other; Aang shrugged, unlike Sokka who didn't seem to budge. "What time last night?"

"This doesn't matter! The only thing that matters is that Katara's safe and sound back here with me—_us."_

Sokka's face straightened; "Fine."

Katara stirred against my chest, murmuring about how she could walk. I chuckled and set her upright, holding her waist for one cautious second before letting her go. Taking a deep breath, she turned to face me. Her eyes were no longer tired or red; but the brightest blue I'd ever seen.

She simply smiled and leaned up on her toes to peck my cheek. "Thank you, Zuko." My face flushed and I looked down at my shoes. "You're welcome."

As she strolled off with Aang to begin waterbending practice, she haunted my every thought. The small kisses on her cold forehead, the feeling of her body in my arms. Everything.

_Every thought. _

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**Yeah.. Just got back from camp today :D ****Which means i now have internet :3 Go me. Reviews are amazing! :D**

**xoxo, Keri (:**


	2. New Divide

**Thanks to all who reviewed and favorited this, mwaah! ****I had one person who reviewed asking if it took place before or after the comet, it's before, just as they were about to migrate to Ember Island after the invasion. :p That review in specific made me cry (': ON WITH THE STORY! :D**

**Btw, sorry if this chapter took a long time.. I got distracted by Kingdom Hearts. I played the first 2 games just for the giggles. Now im back.**

* * *

_Katara_

Aang and I had begun taking down the tents and setting them next to Appa to be packed on. "So why did you take off last night?" He asked, now almost as tall as me.

I considered how I should answer this. Lying would only make me feel so much worse about this whole thing. Lying wasn't an option. I tied up another sleeping bag and then turned to face grey eyes. "I had alot on my mind." Which is true, in a twisted way.

The sun had just been coming up when Zuko had apparently carried me back to camp. Sokka had been sure to confront me about my 'secret thing' with Zuko after waterbending training. Blocking out the thoughts of every kiss, hug, and tear, I'd assured him I had no feelings for Zuko whatsoever. He didn't buy it.

Aang smiled at me, guilt tugging at me. I don't regret sleeping last night in Zuko's arms, but the only problem is that I _knew _how Aang felt about me, yet I still did it. "About what?"

I panicked. Of course, because I can't lie to Aang. I can't lie to him _ever. _Not because he'd get mad, but because I'd get too frustrated with _myself. _I sat leaning against Appa next to him as we both took a break. The grass felt nice against my hands, and my fingers picked at the small strands, closing my eyes momentarily against Appa. I'd definitely be sleeping on the fly down to Ember Island, it would be about a four hour fly from here.

"I don't know, Aang. The storm just kept me up."

Aang frowned. "Ever since you and Zuko confronted that man from the Southern Raiders, you've been different," He said, crossing his arms. "I'm worried."

"Aang, I'm fine."

"Are you sure, because—"

"She said," Zuko's hard voice interrupted, "She's fine. Just go with it, she'll be fine."

As Toph threw her stuff next to me, I stood up and did a mental head-count. Suki, Sokka, Toph, Zuko, Aang and I. All here. I climbed up onto Appa last, watching the land behind us disappear as we flew farther and farther away. For a moment, I forgot about my priorities and relaxed, watching the sky. This was something I'd always done when we'd travel in the night. I'd watch the stars, the sky, amazed that this was the same sky I'd seen my whole life back at the south pole.

Toph broke the peace first. "Hey, Sparky, mind moving?"

"Why should I?"

"Because Katara has that whole side to herself, and I don't feel like being PMS'd at." Wait, "PMS'd at"? That didn't even make sense! I should have said something, but fighting right now would only make everything worse, I figured.

"What is PM—.. Nevermind," Zuko muttered. I felt his weight next to me, but I kept my eyes on the sky. I fought the impulse to roll over and talk to him, ask him questions about last night, everything. That's right, Katara, keep your eyes on the blue sky above.

I rubbed my eyes, the fact that I had about three hours of solid sleep last night taking its toll on me. Sleeping now wouldn't help me any, I'd only be restless again tonight.

Thinking back to before I'd forgiven Zuko, I remembered how he'd pulled me from my position, knocking me off balance and wrapping his arms around me as we both fell to the ground. I'd been astonished, he'd just saved me from being crushed by a ton of rocks. Surprised and shocked, I'd forced him off of me, running ahead to find my father and Sokka. I'd replayed those crazy two seconds in my head; Zuko's long arms holding me close, leaving himself open for attack.

Appa suddenly slowed to a significantly slower speed. I looked around, finding two fire nation ships surrounding us. I jumped up, pulling steam from the air around us, trying to create cover. "Katara! I need you to put distance between them!" Aang yelled, as we nodded at each other. There was nothing Toph, Suki, Sokka or Zuko could do. They'd be attacked if they tried to swim. At least, Zuko, Sokka and Suki would be. Toph _couldn't _swim.

I jumped into the water, freezing it underneath my feet and traveling toward a mid-way point, dividing the ships. Along the way, I'd been knocked off my hunk of ice twice, throwing me into the chilly water. In all this madness, all I could feel was Zuko's impressed expression baring into my back. Aang was on one of the ships, which one, I wasn't sure. All I could see was the air currents knocking some off the ship.

I found myself wondering why we didn't just try flying off. Aang must have had a reason, otherwise he would have tried to protect us all and get everyone out safely.

Shouting. The shout echoed in the air; "Get them out of here, Sokka! We'll handle this!" It lingered in the air for a minute to me. I'd stopped and watched with frightened eyes on an opposite ship as Aang struggled. So, there definitely _was _something wrong. And if it weren't _that bad, _Aang wouldn't have made them leave us.

"Be safe!" I cried to the group as Sokka took the reigns and yelled a 'yip yip'.

Taking a deep gulp of oxygen, I hurled myself off of the side of the now-vacant ship, forcing the water currents to mold to my form. I found myself back-to-back with Aang on the next, barely saving him from being hit by lightning. Then, I realized the problem.

Princess Azula of the Fire Nation stood in front of us, anger painting her every expression. I mentally cursed. _Why didn't we run? _Lightning shot into the air again, Appa almost out of sight. I heaved a circle around Aang and I, taking the octopus formation. My heart raced in my chest; adrenaline pumping through my veins. Here we go. One last time.

* * *

_Zuko_

"Why did we just leave them? I want to go back! The Fire Nation will never know what hit 'em!" Toph cried, throwing her hands up in the air for effect.

Not that I wasn't angry, but Katara and Aang could stand their ground. I've known that ever since I'd watched her control that man back when we looked for the man who killed her mother. Watching her bend water at all made me fear water. Hm, no. Fear wasn't the right word. _Appreciate. _I remember my amazement when she'd stopped raindrops all around us, making a dome over our heads and then throwing it back in motion.

Suki's panic pulled us all from thought. "What was that?"

I followed her eyes back to the now-lit up sky. Rain wasn't falling, yet lightning lit the sky. And when I realized it, my stomach nearly dropped to the fiery pits of Hades. "That's my sister."

Sokka, who had apparently had a few bad experiences with Azula during the invasion, perked his eyebrows. "The crazy one who shoots blue fire?"

"That's her," I replied, putting the pieces together. Katara and Aang were on that ship. Azula was there. What chance did they stand? Two against a whole shipful of soldiers didn't make me feel the 'warm and fuzzies'. "And she's not happy."

Sokka shook his head. "We need to keep going."

"Are you crazy!" Toph yelled, "Leaving them there is like murdering them with our own hands! Worse, with fire! Katara's like the group's mother, and I mean, Aang the the freaking _Avatar. _We can't seriously leave them there!"

Two more pieces connected. Katara's mother had been killed by the fire nation. So had mine. Or, so I think. Killed or banished, it didn't matter in my mind. She'd been taken from me.

"Sokka, she's right. We can't let them.."

"What? _die? _Suki, Katara's my sister. If I thought something would happen, we'd go get them. Right now, we have to save _ourselves_ first."

I stayed quiet for some reason. I didn't speak until then. Letting my people take away innocent lives wouldn't be 'just fine' with me anymore. Before, I didn't think there was anything I could do without making things worse, or disappointing my father. And now, I don't care. I don't care about displeasing my father, that doesn't matter to me anymore.

"We have to go back," I spoke, crossing my arms. "Katara might be your sister, but Azula is mine. Taking her down is my destiny, Sokka. And doing it now will make things easier."

Sokka took this into consideration. He'd been out-voted, of course. "Fine, we'll go back. But I'm telling you! Going _toward _the blood thisty firebenders isn't ever a bright idea!" Suki and I rolled our eyes in unison. Sokka just wanted to protect Suki, and it was a known fact by everyone, and I didn't blame him.

As we got closer to the ships, you could see blue fire and lightning dancing around, a deadly tango between it, and water. Which only meant one thing: Aang had been hurt. I'd only seen Katara go head-to-head with Azula once, and it included Aang almost being killed in the avatar state. That didn't make me feel better.

I could remember how her hair fell from different angles, how her clothes burnt on the end of her sleeves, how stress was so built up in her voice when we first spoke, it seemed to silence her. She deserved some relaxation at this point, surely.

I jumped from Appa, and hit the floor running, already ready to take Azula down for the final, and first time. Azula had always out-shined me, well, it ended now.

I was joined by Sokka, Suki, and Toph soon after. We all stood and stared as Azula and Katara had it out. Katara seemed to just keep getting bigger and bigger with her attacks, tossing the ship slightly as she replenished her supply of water every few seconds. Noticing me, Azula smirked. "Your girlfriend is good, but she isn't a firebender, is she?"

I could see Katara's eyes widening, as if she knew what was about to happen. My heart rate likely picked up, racing. I watched in slow motion as four guards surrounded me, and as Azula held up two fingers, and I knew exactly what that meant.

Katara took her own stance, and just as Azula was about to strike, she stopped in her tracks, back straightening. I vividly remembered Katara controlling the man who had been apart of the Southern Raiders. I watched with the same expression, scared almost to death.

Everyone did. Sokka and Toph's eyes bugged; they knew what this was. What the story behind it was. Now, I _needed _to know. I needed to know what this was.

Azula grunted, screaming, "You'll regret this, water peasant! You will _regret _it! And trust me, you're now an even _bigger _enemy to the fire nation! As if you weren't before!"

Sokka blew a whistle, and Appa was there. Everything seemed to move in slow motion for the second time as we climbed on, Sokka hoisting Aang up onto the bison. "Yip yip!" Sokka cried, barely on the saddle. Appa took off, everyone besides Sokka circled together on the saddle.

"Looks like sugar queen grew a backbone!" Toph rejoiced, even though Katara's stress now mixed with more guilt.

I wanted to wrap my arms around Katara, pulling her in close to my chest. I wanted to feel her arms behind my neck, responding to my touch. I wanted _her. _

"No, I feel incredibly bad. I don't even know why. They've hurt me so much, and now I had the chance to get revenge. I couldn't. Aang would be proud if he were awake," Katara muttered, snapping back into reality. "Aang!" She quickly popped water from her pouch, laying her hands on his leg in specific, rolling up his pants leg, revealing a bleeding scar, possibly burned. "Azula went after him first, then I stepped in, which made her angry. She separated us."

After healing him to the best of her abilities, Katara moved away from him, bending the water back into the pouch. I knew her and Sokka would be missing their water tribe clothing once we got back onto Ember Island and had to change. For a brief moment, I let my mind roam. Imagining her in fire nation clothes seemed.. wrong. But then again, she'd make one seriously beautiful fire nation teenager.

As we landed on Ember Island, I took a look around. At first glance, you knew that it was a royal house. Next to the others, it had more golden trim on the most simple things like doors and windows. It was red, and lifted off the side of the hill with posts, leading to a balcony.

Then there were wooden stairs leading to a stone pathway to the beach. Definitely belonged to royalty. But nobody lived exactly _nearby, _at least, the nearest neighbors were a mile and a half away. Nobody would even suspect us being here.

Katara sighed, sitting on one of the wooden chairs, while Sokka and Suki took Aang to his room. In a few hours, Katara would need to heal him again. Toph had stayed outside, claiming we need a beach party. That left her and I alone.

"You did good today," I said. "My sister isn't someone who's exactly easy to stop."

"See, but I did it by bloodbending. I'm only as good as Hama."

The name seemed to ring a bell. It gave me chills. "Who..?" I began, cut off by Katara's pleading blue eyes.

"I'll tell you the story," She began, thinking about what to say after. "But you have a promise you won't freak out and hate me."

Freak out? _Hate _Katara? No, never! I couldn't ever hate her! Even when I was chasing Aang, I didn't even dislike her in the least bit. Maybe I was harsh on her in the north pole, but that was different.

"I can't hate you, Katara. Don't you get it? I've tried. And hating you, so much as _disliking _you for me, is impossible."

Katara sighed. "Alright. It began with water tribe folk tales. I'd just finished my so-called _'scary story' _and we heard a noise. May I remind you it's a full moon, so I was already jumpy and hyper. The noise only seemed to get closer, and that's when she appeared in the middle of a deserted forest. The monster. Hama."

* * *

**Yup, that is where I shall end it! :D I'm thinking about a Kingdom Hearts fic. Yes, no? Let me know, guys! :D **

**Reviews make this gal's day fourteen times better. Thanks! xoxo, -Keri (:**


	3. AN: Week of Absence

**Okay, I most likely won't be updating soon, sorry guys! D: I'll get in maybe the first chapter of my new Kingdom Hearts fic, but other than that, I make no promises.. The last chapter I posted in Hurricane was _very, extremely _rushed. I mean, I had that typed out in maybe twenty minutes. **

**The reason everything is being rushed is because I'm going to Band Camp next week -_- And then that same weekend, Dance Camp. D: Whattheactualfuck. I know. **

**I definitely will have a revised version of chapter 2 in Hurricane up the second i come back. Because I feel EXTREMELY bad about rushing it. D: You guys know that I go off of what you say, what you tell me you like and don't like.. I just wanted to say thank you to all the people who followed me to my new account and kept supporting me.  
**

**Oh, and I made a youtube ^.^ Link is on my profile, it's loaded with my entire music playlist and a few other funny things. :D**

**See you all in a week! Mwaah! xoxo, -Keri (:**


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